He laughed and looked at me cockily, “Awesome.” He turned to his therapist who was oblivious to our little deal. “I think I’ve done enough for today, I’m gonna go back to my room,” Clay told him.

I laughed and shook my head, “No way baby, I promise I’ll do that, but you still need to go swimming and stuff before you’re done,” I said sternly. I wasn’t letting him off of his training schedule, he could wait a couple of hours to get me naked.

He pouted at me, “Fine, I guess I still get to look at you in a bathing suit so that’s not too bad,” he said, rolling his eyes. Damn horny boy!

I’d been swimming with him everyday too, it was apparently one of the best things to do to build up his strength and control without actually putting weight on his back. It was fun too, we got to mess around in the water for a little while, well until we got told off by the therapist for making out in the pool anyway.

The police had been keeping us updated on the investigation for Blake. Apparently he was pleading guilty to all charges, so there would be no trial for it. He was kept in holding while he waited to be sentenced. A month after it all happened, the same cop from Blake’s house came to the rehabilitation centre to tell us that Blake had been sentenced to six years in a mental institution for the numerous charges he’s pleaded guilty for. It hardly seemed like anything at all, and he’d be out sooner than that too for good behaviour.

While he was in there, he would undergo extensive therapy to help him. Apparently he was ill, they had prescribed him medication for his condition, but due to patient confidentiality the police weren’t allowed to tell us exactly what was wrong with him. I was guessing it was some sort of Schizophrenia or Paranoia disorder. Those type of things fitted with whole situation, the way he blamed Clay for his life going wrong, also for the stalking and physical violence and mood swings. I guess we’d never know. As long as he was getting help then there was nothing else we could do about it, at least he was being punished for everything he did.

We didn’t dwell on it, we had too much to worry about without thinking about Blake. We focused all of our energy on getting Clay better and it was working, it would be a long time before he was back to normal but he’d get there, eventually.

Chapter 32

I almost skipped to the car. I was so excited I could barely stop my hands from shaking as I started the car. Maybe I should have let Brian come with me after all, like he’d offered, but I wanted it to just be me and Clay. Everything was set up at the house, all I needed to do was go to the rehabilitation centre.

I drove there, practically bouncing in my seat. When I pulled into the parking lot I smiled and grabbed my cell phone, sending Clay a quick text to say I was here. He liked me to do that so he could come and meet me out the front or in the reception.

He’d been doing so well lately, it was still an effort for him, walking wasn’t quite the unconscious action that it used to be, but it didn’t cause him pain now which was good. He still got tired quickly, which frustrated him. He hated that he needed help, he hated to ask for help. I saw on his face how much it pained him to have to ask me to sit down with him and take a break, when we were walking around the grounds or something.

I made a slow walk to the front door, giving him time to cover the short distance from his room to the entrance way so he could meet me. As I pushed the door open I saw his blonde head come round the corner at the end of the hallway. A beautiful smile stretched across his face that I couldn’t help but mirror.

Today was a big day. Today Clay was coming home.

“Hey, beautiful girl!” he chirped as he got up to me and wrapped his arms tight around my waist.

“Hey, baby.” I hugged him back, still being careful of him. It scared me, being close to him, just in case I hurt him or something. I sighed contentedly as his familiar smell filled my lungs. I hated to leave him at nighttime’s, but I wasn’t allowed to stay here with him at the centre. Tonight would be the first time in two months that I would get to sleep in a bed with the love of my life, and I couldn’t wait to fall asleep in his arms.

He pulled back and cupped my face in his hands, his green eyes burning into mine, they showed a happiness that had been growing more and more each day. He’d been counting down the days until he could come home, it had felt like forever but finally it was here.

“I had a dream about you last night,” he whispered, kissing my lips gently.

I smiled against his mouth, as I gripped the side of his shirt, wanting desperately to pull him closer to me, to crush his body against mine. We hadn’t been together for a long time, not through lack of him wanting to though. He’d practically been begging for attention but I just couldn’t bring myself to take things further than a quick fumble with him. I was terrified of hurting him, what if it was too soon and it caused him more problems? That thought never left my mind and made me feel slightly sick. It’s not that I didn’t want his body because damn, Clay Preston was a serious hottie, he literally drove me crazy with desire but I loved him too much to rush anything.

“Oh you dreamt about me? What were we doing?” I teased, raising one eyebrow at him.

He smirked at me, kissing me again lightly. “This,” he whispered, pulling me closer to him. “And this,” he purred, kissing my neck making my stomach get butterflies. “And this.” His hands slipped down to my ass, squeezing gently.

I tried to control my body’s urges and rein in my raging hormones, but it was hard. “Oh really? Right in the middle of the reception?” I asked breathlessly, as his tongue trailed up the side of my neck.

He laughed and pulled back, “No, we were back in Vegas actually.”

I smiled when he mentioned Vegas, jeez I wish I was back there with him right now. It felt like we were different people back then, two teenagers without a care in the world, not like now.

“Maybe we could go there again one day. You could win some more money at cards!” I teased, pulling away as he nibbled on my earlobe.

He grinned and took my hand, nodding. “Definitely.”

I raked my eyes over him slowly, taking in every flawless inch of him. He looked so handsome today in just a plain grey t-shirt and light blue jeans, his hair was getting a little long and he kept brushing it back off of his forehead. I’m betting that will be one of the first things he wants to do when he gets home, have a haircut, he hated his hair getting long.

“Shall we get started then, Clay?” I asked, nodding back towards where the training room is. He smiled and nodded, leading me through the hallway toward the changing room so we could do his last training session before he was finally discharged.

After two hours of swimming and him doing some weights and resistance training, he was finally signed out of the centre to be an outpatient. They’d given him a training routine that he was to continue with on his own. I smiled when I scanned it over, swimming was on there five days a week. That was definitely my favourite thing we did together, I also liked the massages I had to give him after to relax his muscles. I’m just glad he couldn’t see my face when I was doing that, I would imagine that I looked like some sort of desperate horny beast or something when I rubbed my hands over his body.

After we packed up his stuff, I sat on the bed watching as he checked all his cupboards, making sure he had everything. He liked to have independence, I think he liked that I let him do little things like this on his own, instead of fussing over him too much. He’d told me that the way his mother fussed over him, made him feel less of a man in some way, I didn’t ever want to make him feel like that so I wanted him to do what he could.

Clay had finally started speaking to his parents again a couple of weeks ago. I think because he was getting better he had decided to try and get on with them, if things hadn’t worked with the operation, I’m betting that things would be very different. I’m pretty sure that if he was in a wheelchair then he would always have in the back of his head of what could have been, so he wouldn’t be able to see them again. Things were strained with them, everyone a little uncomfortable because although he was talking to them, he hadn’t forgiven them.

I personally hadn’t forgiven them either and I don’t think I ever would be able to. I had always liked Linda and Richard, but when I looked at them now, all I could see was them letting down their son and being selfish. The way that Linda had dismissed my relationship with her son had hurt me to the core, and I would never be able to forget it. So I put on a fake smile and pretended, if I had to do that for Clay so he could have a relationship with his parents, then that’s what I’d do.

When he looked like he was finally done packing up, I went to get up off of his bed but he shook his head, putting his hand on my shoulder. “No way, Riley bear. If this is the last time I’m in this room then I’m so making the most of the bed before we go,” he stated, smirking as he stepped closer to me, his face inches from mine.

My mouth started to water at the thought of his body but I couldn’t do that, not yet, not until he was completely ok. He kissed me hard, moving closer to me so I had nowhere to go but onto my back on the bed. He grinned against my lips as he lowered himself down on top of me, kissing me deeply. The kiss was so good it made me feel like my toes were curling up.

I moaned into his mouth as his hand slid down my body, gripping my thigh, moving my leg so it wrapped around his body. I instantly panicked that I would hurt him and pulled away quickly.

H groaned and put his face in the side of my neck. “Riley!” he whined.

I stroked the back of his head, “I’m sorry. I just…..Clay, it’s just……” I mumbled.

He sighed and kissed my neck gently, “Yeah, I know.”

I gripped my hand in the back of his hair. “I just want to wait a little while. Just in case. I’m sorry,” I said honestly. I really was sorry, this whole situation was my fault and maybe I was just making it worse for him instead of helping him. Maybe I should just give him what he wants, goodness knows I wanted it too.